AICC’s First Digital Event A Success

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A sell-out crowd of more than 200 converters and suppliers met in North Carolina to share their experiences

Enthusiasm, curiosity and an eagerness for knowledge about digital printing and finishing brought more than 200 board converters, industry suppliers and printing consultants to Digital Xperience, a first-time event hosted in Charlotte, N.C., by AICC, The Independent Packaging Association.

The four-day conference in late February was impressive in its scope of topics covered during general and breakout sessions and panel discussions. It also included a visit to three local box plants — Company Box, Complete Design & Packaging and Sonoco Display & Packaging. According to Mike D’Angelo, AICC Vice President, this was the largest non-national AICC meeting. “For the first time in AICC history, we had an event that sold out five times,” he said.

Box plant attendees represented a diverse group, some who already had digital printing capabilities and others who were only beginning their journey. Early adopters, such as John Ballantine of Tango Press, Jeff Tedder of Sonoco, Chuck Slingerland of Abbott-Action and John Kelley of Dusobox shared their experiences during panel discussions and breakout sessions. In addition, machinery suppliers presented updates about the latest technology.

Kelley, President of Dusobox, and Chris Heusch, President of ARCH Inc., have traveled extensively to expand their knowledge of digital printing. “Out of this travel and review of what is currently going on in box plants and machine manufacturers comes this statement: ‘We think this is the breakout year for digital and it’s time to get on board,’” Heusch said.

A comprehensive article about the AICC event will appear in the May/June issue of Corrugated Today and the Summer issue of Digital Print for Corrugated.